


when you sleep

by LiveLaughLovex



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Babies, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Lucy wakes to find her husband's side of the bed and their daughter's bassinette both empty.
Relationships: Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	when you sleep

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Natalie Taylor's "I Loved You Before."

Surprisingly enough, the baby’s cries weren’t what pulled Lucy from her peaceful slumber. Since she and Tim had brought their daughter home from the hospital, four weeks earlier, they had learned that Avery was a much better alarm clock than any they’d owned. She was up every two hours, like clockwork, and never slept later than seven o’clock in the morning.

It really shouldn’t have surprised her, the fact that her daughter was so dependable, Lucy mused wryly. She had, after all, had a baby with _Tim Bradford_.

That morning, though, nothing. It was three minutes past four o’clock – long after Avery should’ve been angrily demanding another feeding – and yet she wasn’t making a peep. Lucy sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly and stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, and then glanced at the bassinet next to the bed, her eyes widening when she realized the baby wasn’t there. Only the realization that Tim, too, was missing from the room, and therefore probably had the baby, was enough to slow her racing heart.

She kicked aside the comforter and blankets and padded from the room, walking as quietly as she could down the hallway to their daughter’s nursery, two doors down from their own room. She peeked inside, smiling warmly at the scene that greeted her.

Tim was in the rocking chair, right next to the crib, with Avery cradled in the crook of his arm, held securely against his chest. Their daughter was sound asleep, sucking contentedly on a pacifier. The empty bottle on the nightstand next to them assured Lucy that Avery _had_ woken up for her bottle; Tim just hadn’t given her cries enough time to wake _Lucy_.

“Hi,” she murmured quietly, pulling her husband’s attention from their daughter’s sleeping face. “You want me to take her from you, put her back in the bassinet?”

Tim was shaking his head before Lucy was even finished speaking. “No,” he said, just as softly. “I’m good right here. I’ll, uh, I’ll bring her in there in a little bit,” he assured her, offering a gentle smile.

Lucy nodded once, still eyeing him concernedly. “You okay?” she asked after a moment.

Tim swallowed thickly, then responded. “Bad day at work, that’s all.”

She inhaled deeply, then nodded sympathetically. “Got it. You want some company?”

“Always,” he replied without hesitation, “but I don’t want company as much as you need sleep.”

She couldn’t even deny that one. Birthing a human had been exhausting in its own right. Raising one was turning out to be a full-on marathon.

Tim caught sight of the indecision in her expression and smiled wryly. “Go,” he urged gently, cocking his head in the direction of their bedroom. “I’ve got her.”

“Okay,” Lucy whispered, finally giving into the request, though not before crossing the room to press a kiss to her husband’s temple and run a hand down Avery’s tiny, blanket-covered arm. She then vanished down the hallway, though not before casting one final glance over her shoulder, smiling warmly at the sight of Tim adjusting their daughter’s blankets as he rocked her gently, murmuring softly to her until she fell back asleep.

Unsurprisingly, Lucy slept peacefully, the dreams she did remember filled with love, laughter, and that kind of happiness she’d once thought inaccessible – but now experienced every single day of her life.


End file.
